A Calgary mother who says her child has been the victim of a bullying teacher now says she has the evidence to prove it.
After raising the problem with the principal of Grant MacEwan Elementary, she felt there was no resolution. Her next step was to send her son to his Grade 5 classroom with a recording device.
“We went from having a son excited and happy, to very worried and not sleeping at night and not wanting to go to school in the morning,” the mother told Global News. “That’s when I noticed there was something I needed to look into.”
The device caught the following exchange between the teacher and another student.
Teacher: “Can you stop making excuses? Did you call the teacher’s attention to say I was trying to write this and ask your neighbour? Did you talk to your neighbour?”
Student: “Yeah.”
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Teacher: “Which neighbour?”
Student: “Her- she said she didn’t know and I asked, and then I didn’t get the rest of it.” (student crying)
Teacher: “Oh, so keep crying, Prince. After you ask, I asked everybody to put a red strip on the top of their table if they needed help. Did anybody hear me say that?”
Class responds: “Yes.”
Teacher: “Where is your red strip?”
Student: “I don’t know.”
Teacher: “How then would I know you needed help? I am not a magician. Stop making me one or I will make you vanish.”
In other portions of the recording, the teacher was soft-spoken and encouraging to students.
Officials with the Calgary Board of Education say they cannot comment on the case because it is a personnel issue. They add they are aware of the concerns and have taken action to “ensure the safety of students.”
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